Chapter 22

Fate Is In Your Hands

Thursday, September 15th, 2016

"You're looking into… Okumura?"

At least Minako-san sounded more confused than anything.

"I know, I know," Ken sighed. "But… we couldn't find much info on Shido, by going to the Diet Building. We don't know how to gather intel on him… and we ran into Okumura there. He revealed that he's aiming to enter politics, and furthermore some intel Futaba gathered points to something… fishy."

Minako-san was quiet for a long time. "Can't say I envy you, Ken-kun," she finally said. "Dealing with Tartarus definitely feels a lot simpler."

"Can't argue with that," Ken mrumured. "So we split up on getting info… Ren had Makoto and me talk to his daughter Haru, who's apparently arranged to marry some guy Sugimura-"

"SUGIMURA?!"

Ken's hand jerked his phone away from his ear. Damn, that was loud. His eardrums were ringing. After rubbing his ear, he pressed the phone to it again. "Don't tell me…"

"Yeah, I know of him," Minako-san said, and she didn't bother to hide the disdain in her voice. "About three years ago, the Sugimura family decided they really could use the Kirijo fortune." He could practically see her rolling her eyes. "It'd be useful for campaigning. So their son set about 'charming' Mitsuru, to try and get her to marry him."

"Let me guess… she wasn't too happy with that."

Minako-san burst into giggles. "Is that even a question, Ken-kun? Mitsuru eats guys like Sugimura for breakfast. But wait…" Her voice grew suspicious. "Sugimura is older than Mitsuru… How old is this Haru…?"

Ken winced. "…She's in my year."

Minako-san immediately started gagging. "Ugh, that's just typical!" she huffed. "This is just like Mitsuru's ex-fiancé!"

Ken opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by some sharp rapping on the door. He covered his phone's speaker. "I'll be there in a second!" Then back to his phone: "Sorry, Minako-san, I have to go. You should rest up."

Minako-san huffed. "Ugh, you sound just like Aki. I'm pregnant, not helpless!"

Ken rolled his eyes, letting out a huff. "Bye, Minako-san."

She just giggled again, before chirping, "Bye, Ken-kun!"

He hung up before going to answer the door. Unsurprisingly, everyone was waiting outside. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "I was talking to Minako-san on the phone."

"Don't worry about it," Anne was quick to reassure him. "We weren't waiting for long."

Ren waited for everyone to seat themselves, before speaking. "Okay, let me go first," he said. "Visited the Big Bang place on Central Street."

"The employees look pretty exhausted," Morgana piped up. "I never paid attention when Ren wanted to do the Big Bang Challenge, but the manager kept urging the employees to go faster and faster." He frowned. "Surely they can afford to hire more employees, to ease the workload."

"Hmm. It appears that they're utilizing a simple business model," Yusuke noted, but he was frowning. "Minimize the costs and maximize the work input."

"Greedy asshole," Ryuji spat out, before he scowled. "Makes me sick just hearin' about this shit. Big Bang is an international company now. They don't need to maximize profit like that!" He glowered at the coffee table.

"But is that it?" Makoto asked slowly, tilting her head. "That's wrong, I'll admit, but not what we usually look for in targets…"

"Usually, I'd agree with you, Makoto," Ren said with a nod, "but I tried to talk with a Big Bang employee on break. Pretended I was thinking of applying here, but the guy was super close-mouthed. It…" He suddenly grimaced. "…It reminded me of when Ryuji and I tried to ask the volleyball team members about Kamoshida's abuse. He kept trying to deflect my questions."

"That is a bit more suspicious…" Makoto admitted, rubbing her chin before she glanced over at Ken. "But Ken and I spoke to Haru-san, as you requested."

Anne immediately straightened up. "Did she seem okay?" she asked, a concerned frown on her face. "I… I felt bad… She was pretty much dragged into things…"

"She apologized to us, for something that she didn't even do." Ken couldn't fight back a grimace. "We spoke to her about her arranged marriage but she…"

"I… I feel so bad for her," Makoto confessed. "While I don't doubt that arranged marriages do occasionally develop into true affection and love… that's not the case for the most part. She seems… just resigned to things. And it's all for the benefit of her father."

Though honestly, Ken had a hard time agreeing with Haru-san's attitude about being loyal to your family. His blood relatives had only saw him as a burden, a drain of their funds.

"It's… not that simple." Yusuke's hands were clenched tightly, so tight that his knuckles were white. "You have to understand… it's not simple to just rebel against a parental figure. You want to believe that they're still kind and good, that they're concerned about what's best for you."

He… hadn't thought of that. Madarame's confession had whizzed by him, since he had been caught up with the preparations with the move to Tokyo. Yusuke was an orphan… he just never thought that Madarame was a father figure to Yusuke. The closest to a father to Yusuke.

Why Yusuke had gotten so worked up after seeing Okumura made all too much sense now.

"Yusuke…" Anne breathed, a small frown on her face.

"But… I digress." Yusuke suddenly coughed, shifting in his seat. He seemed rather uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on him. "I wish… to aid Haru-san. Her father shackling her to a despicable man like Sugimura, whose eyes most likely linger on any woman that catches his fancy…" He pursed his lips. "…He's all but selling her body to Sugimura."

"Gahh… he seriously needs to pushed off a cliff or something…" Ryuji grumbled, scowling.

"But anyways, my turn!" Futaba chirped, looking up from her laptop. "Inari and I looked into the history of Okumura Foods. From the looks of it, he's the third head of the company, but it only gained serious profit when he inherited the company after his father died. His father actually died in debt. He ran a café, sorta like LeBlanc."

"But what really caught our attention is the growth Okumura Foods has developed over just the past two years," Yusuke added. "We dug further, and Okumura Foods gained this growth after all sort of scandals happened to their main rivals."

"Hmm…" Morgana hopped over to the armchair where Futaba sat, worming his way so he could peer at her laptop. "Two years…" he repeated. "That's when the mental shutdowns began. We still don't know who exactly Black Mask is. If we target Okumura, maybe we can gather some intel on their identity."

"That's a good point," Ren said, before he turned to Anne and Ryuji. "Any information on Sugimura?"

"Nothing super solid, Ren," Anne informed him. "Sugimura seems to be expecting to be a politician, since his family has produced several politicians. Family connections and all. Like three generations of politicians from what I found…"

"It's like a dynasty or somethin'," Ryuji said, shaking his head. "They're pretty rich too, but if I had to guess, they're agreeing to the marriage 'cause the Okumuras are richer."

Hmm. That would tie into what Minako-san had told him. The Sugimuras were greedy for money…

"Sugimura must be just another stepping stone for Okumura's goal," Ren said, frowning in distaste. He then pulled out his phone. "But before we continue…" He suddenly let out a chuckle. "…We should check if Okumura has a Palace to begin with."

Oh… right. That had completely slipped his mind.

"There's no doubt of it," Yusuke said firmly.

"Well… let's find out." Ren unlocked his phone before pulling up the app. "Kunikazu Okumura."

"Candidate found."

"So… it's a hit," Morgana said. "Hmm. Not sure where exactly the Palace would be…"

"Couldn't it be like… all of Japan?" Ryuji scratched the back of his neck. "I mean, think about it. Big Bang's literally everywhere."

"Hmm." Makoto rubbed her chin. "…That's a good point, but I don't think that's it. It's not quite like Kaneshiro… While his cognition is warped due to his greed for money, money isn't his only motivation."

"So like… a headquarters?" Ken suggested. "It should be in Tokyo, if the CEO lives in the city…"

"Let me do a quick search," Futaba said, before she began humming to herself as she tapped away at her laptop.

"Should we bring in all of our equipment?" Ken asked. "It may be… difficult for us, if we don't transform, with Shadows lurking about."

Ren just met his gaze. "If Okumura is involved with Shido… I don't think we have to worry about that."

…Okay, he had to admit Ren had a point with that.

"Found it!" Futaba exclaimed. "It's in Marunouchi."

Marunouchi, huh…? It was a district known for business and finances, if he remembered right. It'd only be fitting for Okumura Foods' headquarters to be located there.

"Okay, let's go, then," Ren said, grabbing his bag. Morgana seemed to take that as his cue, as he jumped into the satchel.

The walk to the station was short, and they purchased their tickets. They were fairly cheap, but Ken insisted on paying for Yusuke's ticket. Yusuke really was scrapping for money… While that was pocket change for him, it wasn't exactly the case for Yusuke.

It took them nearly twenty minutes to arrive at the station, and even longer to locate the building.

"Okay… let's get cracking, then," Ren sighed, his phone in his hand. "Any ideas, guys?"

"Diet Building…?" Anne suggested tentatively.

Ryuji shook his head. "Nope. How 'bout… mansion?"

Ken fought the urge to sigh. Both negatives… Figuring out the keywords was just annoying.

"I think… we're looking at it in the wrong manner, again," Yusuke stated. "Big Bang was started by Okumura, correct? And it's the source of his funding. Perhaps that can lead to a clue."

"It's… pretty much space themed," Ren said slowly. "So I guess… spaceport?"

"Candidate found."

"Hm, that does make sense," Makoto mused, all while rubbing her chin. "The 'Big Bang' could refer to the Big Bang theory, after all."

"Let's get going, then!" Ryuji cheered, pumping a fist.

"Wait," Ken said quickly. "We're out in the open." He stared flatly at him. "…There's not going to be a repeat of Kaneshiro's Palace."

"Hehe…" Ryuji could only smile sheepishly. "You saw all of that, didn't you?"

"Where did you go to use the app then…?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, that's easy. I went back home and activated the app. Since it was still in Shibuya, it satisfied the app's requirements."

"Huh, must be useful," Ren mused.

Anne rolled her eyes at him. "Well, we're using it now, aren't we?"

"But if we're looking for secrecy…" Morgana said slowly. "I suppose that's my cue."

"Wait, Morgana—" Ren began to protest.

But Morgana didn't listen, jumping out of Ren's bag and disappearing into the building.

"Greaaaaat…" Ryuji grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Now what?"

"We should go after him!" Futaba then looked uncertainly at Ren. "…Right?"

Ren frowned. "I don't know… Morgana would be upset if we went and fetched him like this. He seemed pretty set on doing this. Besides that, people would be… confused about a cat. They'd ask more questions about a group of teenagers entering the building… So…" He shrugged, before folding his arms over his chest. "…We wait for Morgana to come back."

Haru didn't know why Father insisted on her sitting in on board meetings. While she was her father's only child, she wasn't naïve enough to think that she would be inheriting the company when her father stepped down as CEO. Not when she was marrying Sugimura…

He would control the family company, like every aspect of her life.

Haru couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when Father closed the meeting. She slowly rose to her feet. Maybe she could go home now, tend to her garden before she started her schoolwork. It was… one of the few leisure activities she enjoyed.

"Haru, where are you going?" Father asked sharply, just when she was about to open the door.

Haru bowed her head. "My apologies, Father, but I really must return home," she murmured, keeping her eyes downcast. "The meeting was… insightful, but I must work on my assignments."

"Hm." Father studied her closely, before he gave a curt nod. "Very well. An Okumura must not shirk their work."

"Yes, Father." Haru bowed to him again before she exited the room.

When did Father become so cold and calculating? She didn't understand…

Amada-kun's words to her yesterday were still rooted in her mind. Did she really have a choice in this? What would happen if she said no? She… She didn't want to lose her father's love…

…She was a coward. She submitted her father's name on the Phantom Aficionado Website, but she was afraid to defy her father any further…

"Seriously, how did it get in here?!"

…Huh? Haru snapped to attention. The secretary and one of the interns were speaking in frantic whispers, the intern doing his best to hold onto a squirming black cat.

Though… that cat look oddly familiar for some reason. But she couldn't put her finger where exactly.

"What's the matter?" she inquired.

"Oh, Okumura-san!" The intern did his best to bow, all while still holding the squirming cat. "We found this cat in the building. B-But don't worry, I will dispose of the cat as soon as possible!"

There was… fear in his eyes. That was wrong…

Haru shook her head. "There's no need for that," she said kindly. "I was on my way out already. I can take him off your hands."

"Oh, but…" The intern frowned. "…He's kinda feisty. He bit me a couple times. I don't want you to be harmed, Okumura-san. Your father wouldn't be pleased."

Haru fought the urge to sigh. It always came down to the matter of Father… They were courteous only because they feared Father and his reaction.

"I'm sure it's because you were chasing him earlier." Haru then smiled at the cat, whose bright blue eyes were… remarkably intelligent. She held out her arms. "You want to come out with me, don't you?"

The cat settled down, before letting out a series of meows. He then squirmed his way free before jumping into Haru's arms. She let out a giggle, gently rubbing the cat's ears.

"Shall I call a car, Okumura-san?" the secretary asked, already plucking her phone from the desk.

"No, it's all right," Haru declined with a shake of her head. "The walk will do me good."

The secretary just frowned, but she reluctantly nodded. "If you believe so…"

She bade the two a farewell before heading for the doors. And to her surprise, she saw Amamiya-kun and his friends gathered near the gate, talking quiet amongst themselves. The cat meowed several times, catching Amamiya-kun's attention for some reason.

"Morgana!" he exclaimed, before the cat leapt to the ground and darting back to Amamiya-kun. He knelt down, scooping up the cat, apparently named Morgana, and then jumping into the satchel on Amamiya-kun's shoulder.

"Jeez, you shouldn't just run off on that," Takamaki-san immediately began to fuss, frowning at Morgana.

Morgana's ears just lowered, pressed against his skull, before letting out another series of meows. If it was possible for a cat to look abashed, Morgana certainly did.

Though she couldn't help but notice there was one new member of the group. She was petite, with long orange hair that fell to her waist, and her purple eyes were magnified by the large pair of glasses on her face. She looked about… fifteen, sixteen? It was a bit difficult to determine… She stood out amongst the group, as she was the only one not wearing some sort of school uniform.

"Hello, Senpai," Amamiya-kun greeted, hesitating for a moment before speaking again for some odd reason. "We were just… passing by when Morgana ran out."

Haru couldn't help but frown. Passing by…? This district wasn't exactly popular amongst teenagers.

"I… I see…" she said slowly, before looking over at the small girl. (Though Haru couldn't really talk.) "Hello…" She smiled gently at the younger girl. "I don't believe we've met."

"This is Futaba Sakura," Niijima-san introduced, and the now named Futaba gave a little wave, even though she looked a bit unsure. "She's the daughter of the man looking after Ren."

"That's stretching it a little," Amamiya-kun said lightly, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Ren!" Takamaki-san chided, before smacking his shoulder.

"Hey, I'm just stating the truth."

"I, uh…" Sakamoto-kun rubbed the back of his neck. He looked sheepish. "We didn't expect you to be 'round here, Haru-senpai."

"My father wished for me to sit in on the board meeting today," Haru said, clasping her hands behind her back. "I usually don't really visit the headquarters…"

"How are you, Haru-san?" Kitagawa-kun suddenly inquired, his gray eyes filled with concern. "I must confess… we were… concerned after meeting your father…"

Haru's eyes widened. If she remembered right, Kitagawa-kun had been silent during the whole… argument.

"O-Oh… I'm fine," she quickly fibbed, averting her eyes. "It's fine."

Sugimura had been furious and rather… jealous. That had not been a fun conversation… She still had a bit of a bruise on her arm still…

Though she noticed that everyone else was frowning… exchanging looks.

"Look, Senpai, you don't…" Takamaki-san winced, before she wrapped her arms around herself. "We're… just a bit worried about you. That Sugimura isn't exactly… nice."

"Far from it," Amamiya-kun agreed, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"…Thank you for your concern." Haru stared down at the ground. "…So, what brings you here?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"I… er…" Sakamoto-kun's eyes went wide with panic. "We were… uh… scoping out possible internships? For Yusuke especially! He's never got enough money, y'know."

Kitagawa-kun just frowned sternly. "Do not drag me into this. I have no intention in getting a job other than what I have now."

"Dude!" Sakamoto-kun protested, shooting him a disbelieving look. "Can't you-"

"Ryuji, shhh!" Takamaki-san hissed at him, and Amada-kun responded by pressing a hand to his forehead.

They were… hiding something. Why were they gathered here to begin with? Amamiya-kun seemed to be lying to her. Something was awfully suspicious…

Haru had noticed that the group seemed to swell every month. Everyone had noticed that Ren Amamiya, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Anne Takamaki had been thick as thieves since April.

But… the headquarters especially… they were visiting it for some reason. Wait…!

"You're… You're…" Haru stared at them with wide eyes.

"I plead the fifth?" Amamiya-kun offered weakly.

…Wait, what? The fifth… what?

Amada-kun shot him an exasperated look. "Why does someone always have to try that?"

"It's gotta work once, right?"

"It's not and you should stop trying!" Amada-kun retorted.

"You're no fun sometimes, Ken."

"But are you really them?" Haru asked.

"No, that's silly!" Takamaki-san tried to scoff, but it was awfully strained.

Haru frowned. "But I just-"

She had to reassure them that she wasn't going to the police or anything…

Futaba's eyes suddenly grew wide with shock, all but bugging out of her sockets. "Hey, what's that?!" she demanded, pointing behind Haru.

Huh…? Haru immediately turned around to see just what she was talking about. Nothing seemed out of the blue… What was she referring to?

"Run, guys!" Futaba suddenly shrieked out, catching Haru's attention.

Haru whirled around to see that the others had listened to her cue, and were now fleeing.

"Wait!" she exclaimed. "I didn't—please come back!"

She huffed to herself before rushing after them. Her shoes weren't the best for running but she had to try. Though she ended up bumping into an older man in his mid-twenties, wearing a long black coat over a navy blue turtleneck. A dark gray scarf hung around his neck. His dark brown hair was tied in a low ponytail, and his piercing steel gray eyes were… intimidating for some reason.

Haru quickly bowed, contrite. "I'm so sorry, sir! Please excuse me!"

She had to try and catch up to them… She wasn't going to rat them out. She just wanted them to listen about targeting her father…

Looked like he was right to listen to Minako. Shinjiro hadn't been thrilled with her suggestion that he follow the kids to the Big Bang Headquarters, but Minako being her usually annoyingly persistent self had insisted on it. Though she was more worried about them being caught, since there were guards crawling everywhere.

Looked like he still had to save Ken sometimes.

He followed after the girl, who ducked into an alley.

"Please wait!" she pleaded. "I'm not… I have a request!"

"Haru-senpai, it's really not what you think!" Takamaki protested, her voice going up an octave higher than usual. "It's er…"

Shinjiro just pressed a hand to his forehead, fighting the urge not to cringe. Maybe Takeba should give her some acting lessons. Takamaki probably had an awful poker face too.

"Nono!" the girl cried. "It's just—I wanted to talk to you… about my father."

"What about him?" Niijima asked warily.

"You've… You've seen the requests, haven't you?" Her voice was quiet now. "I just…"

"Move," a voice suddenly hissed at his ear.

Someone waltzed by him, and Shinjiro only saw the back of him as he entered the alley.

"You!" Sakamoto hissed out. "What are you doing here?!"

"Why shouldn't I be tracking down my lovely fiancée?" he asked silkily. "State of the art GPS."

"You put a GPS on Haru-san?!" Ken sounded outraged now, and he could imagine Ken glowering at this guy. "What is your problem?!"

"My problem is my fiancée spending time with other men when all of her attention should be on me," the man spat out. "She'll be a married woman soon after all. I won't tolerate my wife to pay any attention to other men."

"…Was that a threat?" Amamiya asked.

"…I think so," Ken said dryly.

"Do not mock me!" the man growled. "I am a Sugimura! My pedigree is better than all of yours put together!"

God, not even when Mitsuru had acted like a prissy little princess had she spouted such bull. Though figures it'd be Sugimura. Minako had warned him about the guy too.

"Must make up for several other things," Kitagawa noted.

"Excuse me?!" Sugimura growled. "Just what are you implying?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kitagawa bit out, and Shinjiro had to press his hand against his face. He could tell that Kitagawa wasn't implying what Sugimura thought he was implying but... Sugimura clearly didn't see it that way.

"Come on, Haru, we're going back to my place," Sugimura hissed out, and the girl yelped when she was yanked closer to him. "We can… entertain ourselves." He let out a chuckle. "In several ways."

"You creep!" Takamaki growled out.

"Get your hands off of her!" Niijima snapped, and Shinjiro took a look to see that Niijima pulled Haru out of his grasp.

"You don't get to tell me what to do!" Sugimura retorted and his free hand flew at Niijima's face. But Ken grabbed her by the wrist, yanking both girls backwards out of Sugimura's range. "She's my fiancée! Keep your nose out of people's business!"

Then the cat suddenly yowled, jumping out of Amamiya's bag, aiming right for the face but Sugimura just swatted him away. He slammed into the brick wall, slumping to the ground.

Haru let out a squeak. "S-Sugimura-san!"

"What, am I supposed to let that mangy cat claw this?" Sugimura scoffed, his hands tracing his face. "He completely deserved that, the dumb animal."

"Morgana!" Sakamoto yelled, before he and Amamiya ran to the cat. He knelt down, carefully scooping the cat in his arms. He glared at Sugimura. "You asshole!" he growled.

Amamiya lightly touched his head, before the cat weakly lifted his head and letting out a soft meow. "Morgana, why did you…?" The cat meowed again before Amamiya's face softened. "Jeez… that was like a total Ryuji move."

"Hey!" Sakamoto protested.

"You are a piece of shit," Ken hissed out, releasing Niijima's wrist. He glared daggers at the man as his hands clenched into fists. He sucked in a unsteady breath. "I don't give a flying crap about your stupid family pedigree, but what gives you the right to manhandle a woman like that?! Hurting an animal like that?! Your head is obviously stuck into four centuries ago!"

Shinjiro couldn't help but smirk. Ken didn't know it, but he was setting up a good opportunity for Shinjiro to scare the shit out of Sugimura. As Ken continued to rant and chew Sugimura out, Takamaki and Kitagawa hurried over to Haru, whispering frantically to her. Haru just whispered something back to her, but her expression was more… resigned. The sight made Shinjiro's heart clench. For some reason… she reminded him of Fuuka.

"You brat!" Sugimura raged, glaring at Ken. "Who do you think you are, to lecture me?! You really think you can threaten me?!"

"No, but I can," Shinjiro growled, taking just a few strides to cover the distance between them. He couldn't help but smirk as Sugimura whipped around and his eyes went as wide as dinner plates. Tch. Figures. Total pansy.

"S-Shinjiro-san?" Ken stammered out, but Sugimura spoke next.

"You're… you're one of Kirijo's dogs," he hissed out.

"Yeah, and you're a little bitch," Shinjiro returned, unable to stop himself from smirking as Sugimura's face turned bright red with anger. "What's the matter, Sugimura?" he couldn't help but taunt. "Mitsuru's an enemy now because she saw right past your little act to get your hands on her money?"

"Kirijo was a fool to not ally with us!" Sugimura retorted, his hands clenched into fists. "She's just a sentimental woman… what does she know about investment? Finances?! We could've created a truly powerful partnership… but she threw it all away."

"Oh yeah, 'cause Mitsuru must be a real idiot for not wanting your family to use her family's money," Shinjiro mocked. "Though I bet your family is still trying to ally with Mitsuru… Bet she'll love hearing about how you manhandled your so called fiancée and how you tried to hit another girl… Probably will get in a lot of trouble with your father too, if Mitsuru's pissed at you."

"That's… you…" Sugimura sputtered out, apparently unable to think of a good retort. Or even a full sentence.

And Mitsuru could put up a better fight when they were just teenagers. That was kinda sad.

"I could call Mitsuru even now," Shinjiro said, as Sugimura's eyes went wide with fear. Ken feared Mitsuru less. "Or… you can just leave now."

Sugimura scowled, his eyes affixed on Haru. "This isn't over," he bit out. "Your father will find out about this. He won't tolerate you spending time with riff-raff and neither will I."

He then shoved past Shinjiro, disappearing from their sight.

And this was why Mitsuru could almost never convince him to go to one of the stupid balls that the upper class liked throwing so much. Some of Mitsuru's 'peers' had such huge egos that he was surprised that they could fit through the door.

"Thank god," Takamaki breathed, before turning to Haru. "…Hey." She gingerly took the shorter girl's arm, and she just winced. A strangled gasp then escaped the blonde girl's throat. "Your arm…"

"…It's nothing," she mumbled out, but she stared down at the ground.

"You can't just accept that!" Sakura blurted out, her eyes wide. Her hands then clenched into fists. "It's wrong! Yusuke's right! Your dad's just treating you like some property that he can hand over for more money!"

"Your father is nothing but scum!" Kitagawa snapped. "He can't just hand you off like that! Especially to a disgusting man such as Sugimura!"

"I…" She looked overwhelmed by everything.

"All right, all right, enough," Shinjiro cut in. "Yelling about this kind of thing in public ain't exactly the smartest thing to do."

"Maybe we could go back to our place?" Ken suggested. "We should patch up Morgana too."

"Oh, that's right!" Haru scrambled over to Sakamoto's side, gently running a hand over Morgana's spine. "Thank you for trying to defend me," she said sweetly. "It was so brave of you…"

He meowed and Sakamoto scoffed before he rolled his eyes. "Cocky as always."

Haru blinked at him. "…You can understand him…?"

"Uh…!" Sakamoto stiffened.

Shinjiro fought the urge to facepalm. God, how did the whole school not know about the Phantom Thieves' identities.

"Oh, Ryuji's just a cat whisperer," Amamiya said with a completely straight face.

"Dude!" Sakamoto cried, making Sakura burst into laughter.

"I know you want to keep it a secret, Ryuji…" Amamiya shook his head seriously. "But it's something that should be embraced."

"Indeed!" Haru nodded enthusiastically. "I wish I could talk to animals! Then I could thank him properly!"

"Ren, I hate you," Sakamoto grumbled.

Amamiya just smirked at him. "Love you too, buddy."

…Guess it was just a Wild Card thing to be a little shit.

"Ah..." Niijima shifted on her feet. "Should we get going then?"

"Yeah!" Takamaki nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go, Senpai!"

"Huh…?" She looked at Takamaki in confusion. "Me too…?"

"I'm fairly sure that Ken meant you as well," Kitagawa said. "Am I correct in my assumption?"

Ken nodded. "Yeah. We should look at your injury, too."

"Oh, but…" Haru looked down at her feet. "It's not necessary…"

"It's fine," Shinjiro said, making her look up in surprise. "Ken's right, we should look at it. May be just a bruise, but you shouldn't just dismiss it."

"We should talk too," Amamiya interjected, before frowning at her. "…Sorry we just kinda left you in the dust."

She bit her lip, staring down at the ground. "…Okay."

"How are you feeling, Morgana?" Ken asked, having finished securing the bandage around Morgana's torso. He put the roll back in the first aid kid and snapped it shut.

"A bit sore…" Morgana then hissed as Ren prodded him slightly in the side. "Okay… a lot sore," he confessed with a wince.

"Morgana, that was really reckless," Ren scolded with a deep frown. "You really scared me back there…"

"I know, I know…" Morgana mumbled, his ears lowering to the point where it was pressed against his skull. "I just… I couldn't sit there and do nothing." He frowned. "Especially to such a nice girl too!" He scowled. "She's wasted on her father."

Ren's eyes softened with sympathy. "I understand that, but you're lucky that none of your ribs are broken…"

"Maybe we can go to the Metaverse later then."

Hm. He had never tried it on a cat (or Koromaru, for that matter), but he could try… And Haru-san was distracted right now.

Ken placed a hand on Morgana's back before concentrating on Kala-Nemi.

Diarama.

Blue surrounded Morgana for a moment. Morgana blinked several times, before arching his back. "Wow!" he exclaimed. "That's a lot better!" He then cocked his head. "…How did you do that?"

"Healing is easy to channel, once you have the hang of it," Ken said in a whisper. "It's a matter of focus. The pain won't go away completely, but it should heal rather quickly."

Morgana gave a little frown. "I… I didn't know that."

"Morgana!" Futaba chirped, suddenly pushing Ken aside. A second later, Morgana yowled. But Futaba just ignored that. "I'm so glad that you're okay!"

"Call her off! I'm hurt!" Morgana whined, even as Futaba pulled at his cheeks.

"Your face isn't hurt!" Futaba exclaimed, sounding almost gleeful. "This is your punishment for worrying us!"

"Ren!" Morgana cried out, squirming in Futaba's grasp. "Save me!"

Ren just sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, Futaba, that's enough. He's been through a lot already."

"Jeez, have you even had a pet before?" Shinjiro-san scolded. "It looks like you're torturing the thing with how he's yowling." He then looked over at Ken. "I need to pick up some groceries at the store," he said nonchalantly, glancing over at Haru-san for a moment. "You'll be fine on your own, right?"

Hm, that was smart. Haru-san didn't know that Shinjiro-san was aware of all of this. Ken nodded. "Yeah," he said. "See you, Shinjiro-san."

Everyone threw in their own goodbyes, before Shinjiro-san left.

"Your guardian… is rough on the edges, but he's very kind," Haru-san said with a hesitant smile. "I can see it in his eyes."

"I dunno, Shinjiro-san's pretty scary," Ryuji said, plopping onto the couch. "He looks like he could snap your spine into two if you pissed him off enough…"

Ken rolled his eyes before sitting next to Ryuji. "He's not that bad. You've seen what he's really like."

Anne nodded. "Yeah, he's like one of those guys who acts all tough but is a total softie! And Fuuka-san seems to have him completely wrapped around her finger."

Ren just threw him a smirk. "Yeah, Ken wouldn't make fun of him if he didn't know he could get away with it."

"Oh, stop." Anne smacked his shoulder, rolling her eyes at him. "Besides, we brought Haru-senpai to talk, remember?" She smiled kindly at Haru-san. "Why don't you sit down?"

Haru-san chose to sit in the loveseat. Futaba and Ren sat at the couch with Ken and Ryuji, while Makoto, Anne, and Yusuke sat on the smaller couch.

"So… is it true?" Haru-san asked softly. "You're…"

Ren inhaled. "…Yes. We are."

"Then Kamoshida… Madarame… Kaneshiro…"

"All us!" Ryuji boasted with a wide smile. "Pretty cool, right?"

"Ryuji…" Makoto sighed.

"What? Can't we take pride in this?!"

"Then… please… listen to my request," Haru-san pleaded before she quickly bowed her head. "Please steal my father's heart!" Her hands gripped the hem of her skirt. "My father… he's changed so much in just the past two years…" she whispered. "I don't recognize him anymore. I… I don't want to marry Sugimura-san."

"Rightfully so," Yusuke said, folding his arms over his chest. "Haru-san… I… I understand how you feel," he said quietly. "I know that it's not easy to fight against a parental figure…"

Haru-san's eyes grew wide. "Kitagawa-kun… I…" She gave a little nod. "…Thank you."

"What can you tell us?" Makoto asked, leaning forward. "There's so many rumors circulating about the abuse. Is it true?"

"I… I don't know, honestly." Haru-san looked up, before she bit her lip. "It's not easy for me to see how my father has twisted Okumura Foods so much."

"But hey!" Futaba blurted out. "After we saw you at the Diet Building, we decided to look into your dad. We're gonna target him. Um…" She fidgeted for a moment. "I-I never had a dad," she admitted. "Unless you count Sojiro… But! I-I'm sorry that your dad is abusing you like this…" She smiled sadly. "…You don't deserve that."

"Asshole dads…" Ryuji scoffed, before he scowled. "Ain't nothing new."

"Father wasn't always this awful…" Haru-san said. "I just don't understand when exactly he had changed."

"…People change," Makoto murmured, only for her expression to grow somber. "…Sometimes not for the better."

"…I'm sorry that Sugimura has targeted you like this," Anne said softly, before she grimaced. "You don't deserve that, Senpai. It's not fun… to be the target of a creep." Her hands clenched into fists. "And the stuff he spouted about going to his place! Ugh! I kinda wished I punched him…!"

Shinjiro-san could have easily done that. But he hadn't. Probably since he knew that the Sugimuras could press charges. But that was why Shinjiro-san had attacked him verbally. Not that he was any less relentless.

"Whoa, Anne, calm down." Ren shot her an amused look. "Sugimura isn't here."

"I still wish that I punched him," Anne grumbled.

"Your concern means a lot to me," Haru-san said. "Though, that's right… You and Mr. Kamoshida…" She winced.

"…Yeah." Anne bit her lip. "But…" Her expression then grew determined. "…We'll be targeting your father. We'll make sure that you won't suffer under him much longer."

"Thank you, Takamaki-san." Haru-san clasped her hands in her lap. "I… I know it's cowardly but…"

"It's not cowardly to wish for your father to change," Yusuke cut in. "Haru-san, you're nothing but the victim in this. You at least are aware that your father is in the wrong here." He stared down at his lap. "…It took me a while to actually admit this."

"Madarame screwed you up," Ryuji said. "It ain't easy to admit that kind of crap."

"But it's… not me…" Haru-san murmured, before her eyes lit up. "Oh! Perhaps I could aid you in this somehow…? This is regarding my father after all…"

"Uhh…" Futaba shook her head. "Sorry, no can do. It's sorta…"

"A trade secret," Ken said.

"Oh… I see…" Haru-san's face fell. "I suppose that makes sense. The Phantom Thieves are like superheroes. And I'm just… me."

"Nonono, that's not what we meant!" Futaba cried.

"It's… dangerous, Haru-san," Makoto said gently. "It's best to leave you out of this…"

"I… I understand." Haru-san then slowly stood up. "…Thank you for the hospitality, but I must head home." She winced. "…My father won't be pleased that I've been out for so long."

"Let me go with you," Makoto offered. "It's starting to get dark anyways…"

"It's probably out of the way…" Haru-san began to protest. "I'll be fine! Really!"

"It's nothing, Haru-san," Makoto insisted. "It… doesn't feel right otherwise."

"I…" Haru-san then sighed. "…Very well. Thank you, Niijima-san."

Soon after, everyone else began to depart. Ryuji and Yusuke left together, so Ryuji could pay for Yusuke's train ticket. Ren and Futaba left with Anne, intending to walk her back to her apartment before catching the train back to Yongen-jaya.

And so… he was left alone. His head was swirling with all of the things he had seen and heard today.

Okumura… he was going to pay for what he was putting Haru-san through. They had to get to the bottom of him…

Futaba suddenly tugged on Anne's hand. "Anne, is everything okay?"

Anne looked at the younger girl. "Huh? Of course it is…"

"It's just…" Ren looked at her carefully, before taking her hand. He gave it a little squeeze. "…You've been quiet."

"It's not… it's just…" Anne trailed off, unsure to put it.

She had been angry enough when they had met Sugimura the first time. But this last encounter… just made her blood boil when she just thought about it. How could Haru-senpai's father put her through this? Her parents were absent in her lives a lot, but… she knew that they loved her.

"…Haru-senpai just gave me a lot to think about." She looked over at Futaba. She hadn't expected Futaba to become so endearing to her. It was hard not to. Her enthusiasm was just… contagious. "When I had first awakened to Carmen, all I could think about is making Kamoshida pay. But… that feels selfish."

"For what…?" Ren asked. "For making you want to fight back? Assert yourself? There's nothing wrong with that, Anne."

"I know but…" Anne looked back at Futaba. "…Futaba. And now Haru-senpai… Helping them… is what being a Phantom Thief is really about. Helping those who can't fight back."

She had never felt so strongly about this. Fighting for the weak… being a hero, as Haru-senpai put it. She may admire the villains for being so strong and confident, but… they weren't villains. They were meant to help people who couldn't fight back. That was a cause worth fighting for.

They weren't here for fame or recognition.

"You did save me," Futaba piped up, a bright smile on her face. "You helped me out of the closet!"

Anne laughed. "Thanks, Futaba."

"We'll save Haru," Futaba said with a firm nod. "And everyone else under Okumura's thumb!"

Yes… this was what they were here to do.

That was when Carmen's voice began to whisper to her.

Thou art I… and I am thou. Thine resolution hast transformed me… and hast given me a new form. I am…

"Hecate?" Anne murmured.

She felt… stronger and… at peace.

"Anne?" Ren frowned at her.

Anne just smiled at her boyfriend, slipping her hand out of Futaba's. "…It's nothing."

Ren just laughed. "You're so silly sometimes." He leaned in close and kissed her sweetly. Again and again… Anne found herself melting against his kisses as usual, but then Ren pulled back slightly. "…But I love you," he breathed.

Anne giggled. "I love you too, Ren. I feel with you at my side… I can do anything."

"Uh, you know I'm still here right?" Futaba grumbled.

"Sorry, Futaba," Ren laughed, though the smirk on his face told her that he really wasn't. "Come on, let's get you home, Anne."

Friday, September 16th, 2016

Haru delicately nibbled at the crepe the chef had prepared for her. It was expertly made, with powdered sugar and sliced strawberries on top. But she could barely taste it.

She could feel Father's eyes on her. His displeasure was clear in his eyes.

Haru reached for her cup of tea, taking a slow sip to savor the taste. When she set it down, Father spoke.

"…Haru, Sugimura-san tells me that you didn't immediately go back."

Haru stiffened. "There was a… misunderstanding," she murmured.

"Sugimura-san also tells me you've been ignoring his calls. Doing your best to avoid him." Father's eyes narrowed dangerously on her and he fiercely scowled. "You do recall that this match has been made for the interests of this family, yes? You know your duty to your family?"

More the interests of him. But Haru held her tongue in that regard. That would do nothing but infuriate him.

"Yes, Father," she said softly.

Father scrutinized her face closely, before he finally nodded. "Good," he said coolly. "Sugimura has also informed me that he would be pleased to welcome you in his home within a month."

"W-What?"

"You are to be his bride after graduation," Father stated. "It's only natural that you become acquainted with how the household is run. After all, you will be running it once you are his wife. Sugimura believes that you should come to him on the eleventh."

Haru lowered her eyes, murmuring an agreement all while blinking furiously. She couldn't cry. What had happened to Father? Was it Mother's death?

This wasn't the man who had cried out of relief, when well wishers had visited Grandfather's café to honor his death. This wasn't her father.

The Phantom Thieves had promised… they had promised…

No.

She was going to make sure of it personally.

Amada-kun was right. She couldn't just wait and pray for a miracle. She had to seize her own fate. She didn't want to marry Sugimura. She was positive being married to him would be nothing but hell.

She knew it was dangerous, but she was done with being complacent. She wasn't going to just keep submitting Father's name to the Phantom Aficionado Site and sit there hoping that he would change.

It was time for her to take action.

Haru's starting to hit her limit… Can't wait to get her awakening. That will be fun.

But yeah, Sugimura is acquainted with Mitsuru. Tried to woo her before, but Mitsuru wasn't having it. Gotta say, I really enjoyed writing Shinji dragging him.

And Anne is the first to get her ultimate. I think a lot of people ignore how empathetic she is, so I wanted to tie that into her ultimate awakening.

(And yes, this chapter's title is totally a reference to the awesome Persona 3 movie song.)